Barzal's indefinite absence impacts the trade deadline, but does it force a decision to be made right now?
The New York Islanders finding out Mathew Barzal will be out indefinitely is as bad as it gets.
Long Island was able to stay afloat over the course of the last few weeks after defensemen sustained injuries due to the waiver wire (Adam Boqvist), a signing (Tony DeAngelo), and a trade (Scott Perunovich).
But no player could land on waivers that could be signed or traded without parting ways with major pieces to fill the void Barzal leaves on the top line.
So, what do the Islanders do?
We'll dive into three routes the Islanders can go on Tuesday morning, but the immediate answer to that question is nothing.
If Barzal is placed on long-term injured reserve, the Islanders will free up $9.15 million and a roster spot for a potential call-up.
The Islanders ran these forward lines against the Florida Panthers, a lineup that likely remains the same going forward, for now:
Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Anthony Duclair
Maxim Tsyplakov - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri
Casey Cizikas - JG Pageau - Simon Holmstrom
Pierre Engvall - Kyle MacLean - Marc Gatcomb
It wouldn't be a shock to see Holmstrom, who has excelled lately, get some opportunity alongside Horvat or even Pageau, who had success with Horvat and Lee before Barzal returned from his previous injury.
Patrick Roy has a few options.
The Islanders can't and will not hang their heads, with eight players currently out injured. They enter Tuesday night's game against the Vegas Golden Knights four points back of the second wild-card spot with a game in hand.
They have three games (Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, and Winnipeg Jets) remaining before the NHL's Four Nations Face-Off, a two-week break during which they will have internal conversations and, hopefully, see some injured players return to full strength.
However, while Lamoriello always says, "If you have time, use it," will he look to fill Barzal's hole over the next few days or let things right out?
While the stars kind of aligned to fill the defense holes, Lamoriello was proactive in filling those holes.
The problem is that filling a Barzal hole would cost a great deal, which, in theory, would force Lamoriello to make his trade-deadline decisions prematurely.
Do the Islanders let pending unrestricted free agent Brock Nelson represent Team USA while still being their property, a team that has had zero injury luck?
Following the tournament, the Islanders have six games (Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Rangers, and Jets) before the NHL Trade Deadline of March 7th, when they must make critical decisions on Nelson and fellow pending UFA Kyle Palmieri by 3 PM ET.
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